put the pricing strategy ahead of advertising For many years the words ‘marketing’ and ‘advertising’ have been seen as virtually interchangeable. This reflects a very narrow view of marketing and highlights the aggressive salesmanship of advertising agencies. This is the third of five thoughts addressing the tools other than advertising, or communication, that marketers can […]

put the pricing strategy ahead of advertising For many years the words ‘marketing’ and ‘advertising’ have been seen as virtually interchangeable. This reflects a very narrow view of marketing and highlights the aggressive salesmanship of advertising agencies. This is the third of five thoughts addressing the tools other than advertising, or communication, that marketers can and should prioritise. I am not sure that anyone pretends to understand why ‘9’ impacts the way it does on purchase behaviour, despite a raft of research and anecdotal evidence highlighting that impact. Research undertaken by MIT and the University of Chicago found that when three price points were tested ($34, $39 and $44) the price point ending in a ‘9’ ($39) generated the most sales. Research undertaken by William Poundstone found that a price ending in a ‘9’ boosts sales by an average of 24%. In another study, researchers listed a number of top-selling…